Day Four: Patterdale to Shap
Our projected route, once more shown in the palest of green colours.
Not much detail on the map today as I had to zoom it out rather a lot to get the whole of the route in. The first half is big hills and mountains until we clear the Lake District and enter Shap. Day five we penetrate the Yorkshire Dales.
Originally, Haweswater was a natural lake about four kilometres long, nearly divided by a tongue of land at Measand; the two reaches of the lake were known as High Water and Low Water. The building of the dam raised the water level by 29 metres (95 feet) and created a reservoir six kilometres (four miles) long and around 600 metres (almost half a mile) wide. The dam wall measures 470 metres long and 27.5 metres high; at the time of construction it was considered to be cutting-edge technology as it was the world's first hollow buttress dam, using 44 separate buttressed units joined by flexible joints. A parapet, 1.4 metres (56 inches) wide, runs the length of the dam and from this, tunnelled supplies can be seen entering the reservoir from the adjoining valleys of Heltondale and Swindale. When the reservoir is full, it holds 84 billion litres (18.6 billion gallons) of water. The reservoir is now owned by United Utilities PLC. It supplies about 25% of the North West's water supply.
Although the present Shap Abbey was built in 1199, the monastic community was founded on another site 20 miles south near Kendal in 1190, but it moved to the present site, then called 'Hepp', in 1199. The old name meant 'a heap' but it gradually assumed the present-day name "Shap" over the next 100 years.
Shap Abbey escaped the initial phase of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536, but it was closed in 1540 and subsequently sold to the Governor of Carlisle. Most of the abbey buildings have been demolished, however the tower remains are still impressive, and the outline of the building plan is clearly visible.
Masonry was robbed away at the end of the 17th century to build Shap Market Hall, and much of the ornate carved stonework was also removed and used in the building of Lowther Castle. Many of the monastic buildings were incorporated into a farmhouse and used as barns, and little has happened to these over the last four centuries as they have formed part of a working farm.
Shap Fell is known for Shap granite that is a pink rock rich in orthoclase, quartz and biotite; Shap Pink Quarry takes its name from this.
Shap Wells has a mineral spa located in the grounds of the Shap Wells hotel which was used in World War II as a prisoner of war camp.
Our hotel New Ing Lodge is a Grade 2 listed 18th century farmhouse that now hosts a friendly 10-bedroomed guesthouse and holiday let.
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